


Dawn's Gift

by LydiaBlue



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:41:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27640865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LydiaBlue/pseuds/LydiaBlue
Summary: Dawn is the only one who can save everybody but she has to go back to do it.  Buffy get told some information and gets angry.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

Dawn’s Gift

Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it all belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.

Synopsis: Dawn learns she could save everybody, she just has to go back to save them all.

Author’s note: Grammar is not my strong suit, I can write well but my punctuation and formatting is not the best. 

Reviews are welcome and appreciated.

____________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 1

“Go Dawn, GO!!!” Willow looks behind her. The spell has been cast but dawn has to walk through the portal. “Think where you want to go, remember what you have to do. Save them. Tell Buffy what we found out. It should all change.” Willow takes the knife in her hand and slices through Dawn’s palm. “GO!!”

Dawn winces when the knife cuts her. She looks up and sees the protective dome flicker knowing Willow cannot hold both the dome and the portal. She looks at Willow one last time as an arrow made it through as the dome flickered at the wrong moment. Willow turns towards Dawn as she falls, with blood coming out of mouth, and screams “GO” as the dome falls.

Dawn turns and steps through the portal, thinking about when she wants to be.

********************************************************

“Shallow cuts, shallow cuts” Doc slices into Dawn’s stomach.

Dawn winces but then takes a deep breath and begins to look around confused then she smiles. 

“Why are you so happy?” Doc asked.

“Because you’re going to lose. Buffy!!” Buffy walks towards Dawn and pushes Doc off the lattice. She unties Dawn and starts to pull her towards the stairs but Dawn stops and looks over her shoulder with a scared look on face. Buffy turns to look and doesn’t see anything but it was just the distraction Dawn needed to step back towards the edge.

“Dawn!! What are you doing?” Buffy reaches out to grab Dawn again but Dawn dodges just enough that she isn’t grabbed but doesn’t fall.

“Buffy, listen to me. I have to jump, it has to be me. It won’t work for you.”

Buffy looks confused, “What do you mean? How do you know that?”

Dawn smiles, “I’m from 8 years in the future. I came back to stop you from jumping.”

Buffy scowls, “So you need me to be the Slayer, I can’t die how I want to anymore. You are 15 years old, you deserve a life. Well, my Dawn deserves a life and if I have to die for her to live then I will.”

Dawn chuckles, “You did die so I could live in my reality but you didn’t stay that way. Now I need you to listen to me because there are some things you need to know before I jump.”

Buffy just looks even more angry, “I am not letting you jump. I will and the portal will close.”

“You are not enough,” Dawn says angrily.

“What? But you were made from me, we both have Summers blood. We are the same.”

Dawn sighs, “Yes, we have the same blood but that is not all the portal is looking for to close. The portal is only going to close if the Key goes through it. Your blood has Slayer magic in it, and while that will close the portal for now, it won’t close it forever. The portal will burst open about 6 years from now, demons will begin spilling out of it. We didn’t know it reopened for months. The West Coast of the US was completely overrun before we were notified. North America is lost within a year. We were in Scotland trying to hold back the demons. Willow and the witches created a spell that would place an invisible dome around our land to ward off any demons from entering. Before I left, we were the last humans alive. We lost everyone. Willow had to hold the ward so she could not leave, it’s the only reason she lasted as long as she did. My group was pulled back from hunting for survivors six months ago. I was needed. Willow believed I could direct a portal to wherever I wanted and she was right. I came here to stop you from jumping and give you some very important information we discovered.”

Buffy looks devastated. “Everybody is lost just because I die.”

Dawn smiles, “No, everybody is lost because you jump. You were brought back. You didn’t end up dying for good for a few years.”

Buffy’s mouth drops, “What? I came back.”

“Yep. You upset the balance and caused the First to gain a foothold in our reality. It caused all sorts of badness. But that’s not going to happen now because I’m going to jump. But there are some things I need to tell you first. Please don’t forget them.”

“Okay. I’ll try”

“Thank you. First, the Slayer line no longer runs through you. You do not have to stay in Sunnydale. I am asking you to please go and discover Buffy again. She is amazing. Just keep in touch, in case you are needed so they can call you for help. Next, Faith needs to be on the Hellmouth, it is her responsibility and the Watcher’s Council can get her out of jail whenever they want. Third, Spike really does love you. Angel lied to you. Demons do have the ability to love. It is not a soul that lets someone love. He only told you that so you would think he was special because he wanted you to always be waiting for him.”

“Hold on, wait a minute. Angel did what?”

“Buffy, Angel is an egotistical asshole who treats you like a child. He only comes when you are in distress to reinforce your belief that you need him. But if you act like an adult, like when you went to LA to face down Faith, he scolds you. You let him keep you in a bubble. Well, Buffy, it’s time to pop that bubble because I have seen you when you do and it is awesome.”

“I can’t believe he would do that.” Buffy shakes her head and waves her hands like she is swatting that though away. “But I’ll deal with that later, please finish what you need to tell me.”

Dawn smiles, “Ok. I only have a few more things. Get Giles to call Travers and talk to him. The Council is a multibillion dollar company. I bet you could get him to pay you, be sure to ask for back pay. See if he would buy the house so that the Slayer always has a place to live on the Hellmouth. He might go for it, he might not but Willow said that it’s worth a shot. Finally, I love you, Buffy.”

Buffy starts to cry. She walks forward to hug Dawn. “Sorry I wasn’t enough.”

Dawn looks sad, “Buffy, you have always been enough. You became my mom when you didn’t have to. I had the life you wanted me to have now I want you to have the life you always wanted to have but couldn't because of the Slayer”

Buffy collapses onto the scaffolding crying. 

Dawn turns and jumps. Lightning starts up around her body. Dawn winces in pain but keeps repeating 'Close, Close, Close' over and over in her head. Then she smiles when she feels the power beneath her skin come alive and her body disappears in a huge flash of green light closing the portal.

Buffy knows she has to get up so she shakily stands and grabs the pipes on either side and makes her way to the stairs. On her way down she thinks about what Dawn told her and realizes that Dawn was right. She stopped being the Slayer when she died at the hands of the Master. The Slayer essence can’t be released only suppressed so she will always be a Slayer but she is not The Slayer, Faith is.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy talks to Quentin Travers.

Dawn’s Gift

Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it all belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. If you recognize parts, they are from episodes of Buffy completely paraphrased from memory so if the quote is wrong its cause I didn’t want to rewatch the scene to get the exact wording.

Synopsis: Dawn learns she could save everybody, she just has to go back to save them all.

Author’s note: Grammar is not my strong suit, I can write well but punctuation and formatting is not the best. I do check through but I will make some errors.

Reviews are welcome and appreciated.

*************************************************************************************************************

Chapter 2

Buffy reaches the bottom of the scaffolding and sees all of her friends. Some are worse than others but they are all alive. She turns and sees Spike crumpled on the ground by the tower and looks devastated. 

“Luv, I’m sorry. I tried . . .” Spike trails off when Buffy puts her hand up.

“I know. It’s not your fault. This is how it was supposed to go.” Buffy says sadly. Spike looks confused. 

Buffy walks up to Giles. “Is Travers still in town?”

Giles looks confused. “I think so. Buffy, why are you asking about Travers when your sister just died?”

She looks determined. “Travers and I need to have a discussion. Can you call him? Ask him what hotel he is at, I need to talk to him ASAP.”

Xander comes over and puts his hand on Buffy’s shoulder, “Are you okay?” 

Buffy looks at Xander, “Yeah. I will be.”

Willow and Tara walk up. “I’m sorry about Dawn.”

Buffy looks up at the place where the portal opened, “So am I. Lets go. Giles has a phone call to make for me. But does anybody need a hospital or will first aid at Giles’ work for everybody.”

Willow and Tara look each other over and smile, “Giles’.” Xander looks over Anya and only sees minor injuries, “Giles’.” Buffy knows she only has bruises so she looks at Spike and sees him bleeding, “I’ll patch Spike at Giles’. Are you good Giles or do you need the hospital.” Spike looks surprised. Giles looks at Spike before turning to Buffy, “I only have bruises, maybe a couple cuts but my place is good for those.”

“Perfect. Lets go.

_***2 hours later at Giles’ after everybody has been doctored.***_

“Giles, will you call Travers and ask him to meet me sometime today if he is still in town.” Buffy asks from the couch.

“What if he asks why you want to talk to him? Will you tell me why?” Giles inquires.

“Sorry, Giles. I really need to talk to him. I’ll let you know how it goes after.” Buffy says.

Giles looks at Buffy and sees someone who needs answers. He decided he is not going to stand in her way. He goes over to the phone in the kitchen and calls Quentin Travers on his cell phone. After arguing for a few minutes, Giles gets Travers to set a time for Buffy to meet with him.

“Buffy, Travers will meet you in 30 minutes downtown at the Hilton on Main.”

“Awesome. How much did you have to threaten him to make him show up?” Buffy asks getting up from the couch. She looks down, glad that she was able to change clothes after the tower even if it is just a simple pair of jeans and a green shirt.

“Not much. But a little bit.” Giles holds up his pointer and thumb close together causing Buffy to laugh. 

“Well, I better go if I want to get there on time.” Buffy grabs her red leather jacket and walks out.

_****The Hilton***_

Buffy walks up to the front desk. “Hi, I’m meeting Quentin Travers, could you call up to his room and ask him to come down please.” The clerk looks at Buffy and smiles. “He called down and asked for you to meet him in one of our meeting rooms,” he points to the left, “straight down the hall, second door on the left.” Buffy thanked him and walked off towards the room.

She walks into the meeting room the clerk told her to and she sees Travers sitting at a square four person table drinking a cup of tea.

“Hello, Miss Summers. I did not expect you to want to meet with me. Especially with how we ended things the last time.” Travers tells her smugly.

“Well, I found out a few things.” Buffy says while taking a seat. 

Travers lifts an eyebrow in question. “Oh, what did you find out?”

“Well, did you know that I’m not actually the Slayer? I relinquished my title the day that I died at the hands of the Master.” Travers’ face goes a little pale. “Meaning I have been doing a job I don’t want, for too long. It stops now. I will no longer be the Slayer. You have one, her name is Faith, and she is in jail in LA.” Buffy stands up and moves towards the door. “I would say it was nice knowing you, but I can’t.”

“Miss Summers, you can’t just stop being the Slayer. It’s part of who you are. The demons know who the Slayer is, they will still come after you.” Travers says.

“Well, then I guess it’s a good thing that I just so happen to have a best friend who’s a witch, who could help me with that problem.” Buffy says as she reaches for the door.

“Wait.” Quentin says.

Buffy smirks while facing the door, but schools her face to polite indifference when she turns to face Travers. “What?”

“I know that you don’t like the Council, and I understand your reasons, but we agree that you are a good Slayer. Faith wants to be in jail, we both know that if she didn’t want to be in there, she wouldn’t be. The Council had decided on her being allowed to stay there as long as it seems like it is doing her good. We need a Slayer on the active Hellmouth.” Quentin said

“Mr. Travers, my sister just sacrificed herself to save the world. My mother passed not too long ago. I need time to process. I need some time away from fighting for my life. I’m also going to have to find a job because you guys don’t believe in paying Slayers. You fix these things and we’ll talk.” Buffy says still standing by the closed door.

Quentin motioned for Buffy to sit back down and after a minute staring at him, Buffy sat down. “I can solve some of those things. I can authorize a wage for you so you can focus on being the Slayer. Mr. Giles has already been authorized to resume his duties as your Watcher with a full salary. I know he owns the Magic Box with the ex vengeance demon which will come in handy because she probably knows a lot about some demons or even has some contacts. We believe that your friends along with Mr. Giles will be able to handle the Hellmouth for a little while so you can leave and grieve for your family members.”

Buffy sat staring at Travers in shock. She did not believe that he would cave so easily. She thought there would be a fight to get her some money. “So, just like that. You can do all of that.”

“Yes, Miss Summers. I am the Head of the Watcher’s Council.”

“What will this cost me?” Buffy asked.

“You will become an employee of the Watcher’s Council. You will be paid the same as a senior Watcher.” He holds his hand up when she goes to open her mouth. “Yes, I know. You will be given back pay for the last five years. Your house will be purchased by the Watcher’s Council in your name on the stipulation that it becomes the property of the Watcher’s Council when you die for good. In exchange, you will be our active Slayer. You will not be allowed to move off the Hellmouth. If you manage to shut the Sunnydale Hellmouth permanently, you will move to the new Hellmouth wherever it may be. The Council will purchase you a house in that location. If Faith were to die in prison, you will help out the new Slayer in learning how to fight before she is moved to another location by the Council. In essence, you will be the Hellmouth Slayer until you die or are unable to perform your duties.” Quentin sat back and watched as Buffy thought about what he just said.

“Most sounds good. But I don’t want to be the Slayer until I die. I will make this deal if I can retire from Slayer duties at the age of 35. That will have given you 20 years total of me being a Slayer. I will help train the other Slayer for a year and then I am done. I also want to be able to leave the Hellmouth for brief periods whenever I want as long as there is no Big Bad still around. The Hellmouth will survive if I take a weekend here and there or a vacation. I might decide to go back to college and get a degree. As long as Giles helps as my Watcher, I don’t think that will interfere as long as I don’t take a huge courseload.” Buffy said.

“I believe that we can work with that.” Buffy shakes Travers’ hand and gets up from the chair. “I do have a question, Miss Summers.” 

Buffy sits back down and looks at him curiously, “What is that?”

“How did you come about your information? It was a closely guarded secret that the Slayer line flowed through Faith now and not you.”

Buffy smiles, “Dawn told me.” Quentin raised an eyebrow in question. “Dawn apparently had the power to open portals and jump back in time. My sister, who jumped, was a Dawn that lived the next 8 years already. She told me that I jumped in her place, which I was ready to do, but that I was not enough to close the portal permanently. She said that in 7 years the portal would burst open again and we would lose North America within a year that by the time she came back the world had practically been overrun. Willow and a group of witches had created a dome to protect the last of humanity and she was their last hope to fix everything. She told me that Willow found out I was not still active and that the Watcher’s Council was a multibillion dollar company that should be paying me, I’m guessing I struggle later on.”

Quentin looked confused after she finished speaking, “Dawn had these powers?” Buffy nodded her head. “How could you be struggling paying your way if you were already dead having jumped into the portal?”

Buffy shrugged, “I was brought back somehow, I didn’t ask a lot of questions, there was a portal opening behind her.”

Quentin nodded, “I will have a contract drawn up for you. Pleasure doing business with you.”

Buffy stood up, “Thank you.”

*************************************************************************************************************

Buffy walked down Main street thinking about the meeting she was just in. She knew she just negotiated the next 15 years of her life away to the Watcher’s Council but she thinks it was the best thing for her. She knows she is going to be okay. Dawn asked her to save them and she did. She walked all the way to Revello Drive lost in thought. When she gets home, she opens the door, walks in and leans against the closed door and sighs happy to be home.


End file.
